


Odds and Ends

by Vena



Category: Tales of Xillia
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Mostly fluff but the last chapter is a bit angsty i'm sorry, Spoilers, Xillia 2 True End Spoilers, please don't read this if you haven't finished xillia 2 there are endgame spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-22
Updated: 2016-07-22
Packaged: 2018-07-16 02:55:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7249174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vena/pseuds/Vena
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ludger, Elle and company spend some quality time together and work on odd jobs while working to pay off some of Ludger's debt while waiting for any important calls from Spirius. Years after the events that took place in Canaan, Elle does a bit of reflecting.</p><p>Spoilers for the last few chapters of Tales of Xillia 2. Please don't read if you haven't finished the game!!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Alvin and Jude

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everybody! This fic is my contribution to the Tales of Big Bang at @bbtales on tumblr for this season! I was going to do chapters with Gaius, Rowen, Muzet, and Milla as well, but I was having a lot of trouble writing for them so I may add those in at a later date if I can get those scenarios to work out! I just wanted to get this finished up for the deadline tomorrow so I put more care into the chapters I included.
> 
> This was a lot of fun! I've never written for the Xillia gang before and it was a blast. I will definitely be writing more for them in the future! I hope that there will be another round in the future too! I can't wait to read all the new fic! :D I hope you all enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it! I wanted to write about certain characters interacting (since all of the character quests in the game were always between the same two characters), so I'd split the groups into Jude+Alvin, Milla+Muzet, Leia+Elize, and Gaius+Rowen. I'll try to add those other two at a later date. For now, I hope you like what's here!

“Jude, have you ever thought about fighting some other way?”

The young girl’s question seemed to surprise all three of the adults, and they turned to her with puzzled looks on their faces.

“What makes you ask that, Elle?” Jude asked, crouching down to her level once he’d finished wiping his hands clean. They’d just finished taking out a group of monsters, and he didn’t want Elle to see more blood than she had to. She reached out and gingerly took one of his hands in her tiny ones, gently brushing her fingertips over his scraped knuckles with a wince.

“Your hands are always hurt all the time from your punches, doesn’t that bug you?” she asked, looking back up to his face.

“Not really. I’ve been fighting like this for years, it seems silly to think about changing now; besides, I got nastier bruises on every other part of my body when Leia and I were in training,” he laughed, the memories seeming to carry more pain than whatever scrapes and callouses his hands currently had. “I like working with my hands.”

“You know, though, she has a good point. Haven’t you thought about it even a little?” Alvin asked, Ludger nodding in agreement. “You’re a researcher now. Just because you use your hands in the lab all the time doesn’t mean that you should keep using them in a fight, too. What’re you gonna do if you really hurt them and it affects how well you can do your job?”

Jude frowned, standing back up to look at the two. “You both think so? Well, I guess I used to think about using a staff like Leia did back when we were kids. I thought it might keep me from getting beat up all the time.”

“Then go and give it a try, Jude! I wanna see you swing a staff around like Leia does,” Elle chirped, bouncing up on her toes. Jude laughed again as Alvin gently nudged him in the side.

“You can’t leave the little lady wanting, Jude. You’ve got no choice but to do it now,” Alvin winked, pulling out his GHS. “When we meet up tomorrow to finish this monster extermination job with Ludger, I’ll get Leia to lend us one of hers.”

“Now wait just a-“

“Jude! Look at that girl’s face! Do you really want to disappoint that cute kid?” Alvin slung an arm around the shorter man’s shoulder, gesturing with his other to Elle’s ‘i-really-want-to-see-this’ pout.

“Yeah, Jude! Do you wanna disappoint this cute kid?” she walked up to him, lightly tugging on the corner of his coat to appear even more endearing. Ludger was starting to wonder if Alvin was a very good influence for her. Though he wasn’t going to lie, he was as curious about this turn of events as the other two were.

With a heavy sigh, Jude slumped a bit. “Alright, alright. But I’m only doing this because it’s something I already wanted to do. Will you two quit looking at me like that?” Glancing to the side, he gave Ludger a pointed look. “You too,” Ludger smiled sheepishly and looked away.

“Well, we’re finished up for today anyway. You better be prepared for tomorrow! We won’t let you forget!” Alvin said, Elle jumping up and down beside him.

“Don’t forget! Don’t forget!” she cheered, smiling wide when Ludger reached down to take her hand.

As they walked back to town, Alvin was already chatting animatedly with Leia over the GHS. Jude couldn’t help but be worried.

 

The next day, the three of them arranged to meet in the outskirts of Trigleph. Ludger and Elle were the first to arrive, and Elle was just as excited as she had been the day before.

“How well do you think Jude’s gonna do today, Ludger?” she asked, rocking forward and backward as she used his hand as an anchor. “Do you think he’s gonna be as good as Leia?”

“Probably not, Elle. Leia’s trained with her staff for years; this will be Jude’s first time,” he reminded her, his arm swaying back and forth with her momentum.

“I guess so. Do you think he’d be better with one of your weapons? You have a bunch of them too!” She poked the hammer on his back with her free hand, but knew better than to reach for his pistol holsters. She’d been lightly scolded about how ‘dangerous’ they were the last time she’d tried. That didn’t mean Alvin hadn’t let her hold his one time, much to Ludger’s chagrin.

“Possibly. Dual blades could work, considering he’s already used to fighting with both of his hands,” Ludger pondered aloud, wondering how that would look. He doubted he could convince Jude to try those as well. Maybe Elle could use her powers of persuasion on him again.

“Maybe. I just want to see him hit stuff with a big stick,” Elle admitted, and as if on cue they spotted Jude’s approach.

“’Just want to see him hit stuff with a big stick’, huh?” he asked, grinning as he made his way to the two. “Alvin’s late, huh? Sounds about right. I wouldn’t be surprised if he showed up with the whole gang in tow.” He sounded a lot less enthusiastic about that last thought.

“I doubt he told everyone about this,” Ludger replied, giving Jude a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

“It’s not him I’m worried about,” Jude sighed, and Ludger nodded sympathetically.

“Don’t worry about it, guys. I made sure Leia was sworn to secrecy,” a familiar voice called, Elle letting go of Ludger’s hand to run over to Alvin as he approached.

“Someone’s fashionably late,” Jude joked, turning and following Ludger and Elle toward their new arrival.

“Because it’s the fashionable thing for fashionable people like me to do,” he replied with a smirk, wagging a wooden staff in Jude’s direction. Jude scoffed, though he eyed the weapon warily. “Leia said this one would work best for you. It’s light and easy to maneuver with according to her,” he continued, holding it out for him to take. Jude grabbed the staff, trying to find a good point of balance for it between his hands.

“This doesn’t feel so bad,” he murmured, striking the battle stance he’d seen Leia do countless times. The pose looked good to Ludger, though he wasn’t really experienced with that sort of thing. He preferred hammers, the heft they had preferable to a balanced staff. The weighted tip made him feel like his strikes were more powerful.

“Want to take a few test swings?” Alvin asked, Jude nodding in response. The three backed up to give him room, and Jude attempted a few careful swipes with the staff to try and get accustomed to its weight.

“Feels so different,” Jude said, turning around to face the others again. “Just be sure to bail me out if this goes badly, okay?” he asked, Ludger and Alvin flashing him a thumbs up.

“I won’t let any of those monsters harm a single hair on your pretty head,” Alvin said, holding a hand up as if taking an oath. Jude nudged him in the gut with one end of the staff, mumbling a ‘shut up’ in response to his smirk.

Once they were all set, they headed off to the area they’d been in the previous day, ready to finish exterminating the cluster of monsters that had taken up residence too close to town. Elle stood a safe distance away, finding a safe place to hide herself. Alvin unstrapped the large broadsword from his back, and Ludger pulled his pistols from their holsters. Jude’s grip tightened on the staff as Ludger got the monster group’s attention by making a careful shot into one creature’s side. It roared in pain and frustration, and the other monsters quickly turned to face their attackers.

Alvin and Ludger managed to take down another couple of monsters before it reached them with a combined burst of gunfire, Ludger holstering his pistols and unsheathing his dual blades before the pack of four-legged beasts reached them. Jude managed to push back the first monster that reached him with the staff, smacking it on the head as he took a quick step back. He still hadn’t gotten the hang of how forceful he should be with the weapon as it appeared to be a glancing blow at best.

Resituating himself, Jude ran toward the monster again and gave it a harder strike. The monster fell to the side, but he began to worry the wood of the staff might crack if he hit something too hard. The staff’s sturdiness was unknown to him.

“Jude, behind you!” Ludger called, Jude turning as a monster began to dive at him. He moved to strike it with the staff, but he wound up losing his balance instead.  Alvin swung his sword down and cleaved a deep wound into the beast, stopping it in his tracks. It yelped in pain, and Jude managed to get the finishing blow with the staff.

“Sorry about that,” Jude mumbled, and Alvin just shook his head.

“Hey, we’re the ones who wanted you to do this. You’ve got nothing to apologize for,” Alvin replied, giving him an apologetic smile. The two seemed to forget where they were for a moment until they heard a third voice calling out desperately.

“Guys, could I maybe get a little help over here?” Ludger shouted, trying to take on the remaining four monsters on his own. Alvin and Jude gave each other a sheepish look before rushing to Ludger’s aid.

“I’ll get the two on the left, you take out the one on the right,” Alvin called, Jude acknowledging him be taking off to the right. He smacked the beast, drawing its attention away from Ludger. On the other side, Alvin fired a few rounds from his pistol at two of the monsters on the other side, distracting them long enough for Ludger to take out the fourth monster.

Jude smacked his monster around a bit more, having some trouble getting in any proper hits with the unfamiliar weapon. Finally losing his patience with the thing, he tossed it to the side before dashing in and giving the creature a square punch to its jaw. It hit hard, the monster sprawling out a foot away before Ludger stepped in and made the finishing slice.

Alvin seemed to be doing fine on his own, used to this sort of work from his old days as a mercenary. By the time Ludger and Jude had finished with their two monsters, he was already holstering his weapons and making his way over to the other two. Now that the fighting was done, Elle came dashing from her hiding spot to the group.

“Jude, you didn’t use it ‘till the end! Was it hard to fight with?” she asked, curiosity in her eyes as she retrieved the weapon from its spot in the dirt.

“Leia sure makes it look a lot easier than it is,” Jude sighed, looking down at the hand he’d delivered his punch with. “I know you guys mean well, but I think I’m just going to stick with my fists.”

“We shouldn’t have tried to mess with you so much anyway,” Ludger admitted. “At least not in a situation like this. You could have gotten hurt badly, or worse.”

“With strapping fighters like us around? You have to give us a bit more credit than that,” Alvin winked, Jude rolling his eyes with a smile on his face.

“We better return this thing to Leia when we go to collect the reward,” Jude said, taking the staff from Elle’s outstretched hands.

“Before we go back, Leia asked me to take a picture for her,” Alvin said, pulling his GHS from his coat pocket, “go post over those monster corpses and give the camera a smile!”

“Isn’t that sort of lying, though? I didn’t do a whole lot with it,” Jude replied, making his way to the spot Alvin was motioning to.

“If anyone loves a good tall tale, it’s Leia,” Alvin laughed, Jude striking his battle pose. “Ludger, Elle, you get over there too. Look as amazed as you can without it looking too fake.”

“He’s out of control,” Jude mumbled as Ludger and Elle joined him, both giggling before pulling their best surprised expressions. Alvin snapped the picture, giving them a thumbs up once he was satisfied with the result.

Of course, Leia demanded a play-by-play of what had happened when they returned the staff to her, and Alvin was definitely going whole hog with his ‘retelling’ of the events.

“…and then, just when we thought the monster was going to get him from behind, Jude spun around lightning fast and struck it down mid-leap!” To emphasize his point, Alvin had mimicked a striking motion with his empty hands, simulating the supposed attack. Leia, of course, ate it all up.

“Really!? Wow! Jude, I never knew you’d have such a knack for the staff! Did you want to keep this one? We could start training together!” Her eyes sparkled, and Jude shot Alvin a look (which he just smirked at, the jerk).

“Nah, I don’t think I’ll need it. It was fun, but I’m going to stick to what I know,” he replied, Leia dramatically slumping over in response.

“Awwwwww, alright. If you say so.”

 

Later that evening, Ludger received a text from Alvin. It had been the picture they had taken after slaying the monsters. Smiling, he saved the photo to his GHS.

 


	2. Leia and Elize

When Ludger and Elle showed up in Sharilton with an enormous amount of reeds, Elize didn’t really question it. Leia, who had been visiting at the time, questioned it a lot.

“Basket weaving? Seriously? Where do you even find half of these jobs, Ludger!?” she cried, taking some of them from Elle who looked like she’d been ready to tip over with the weight of what she’d been hauling at any moment. “Last week it was spear fishing, the week before that it was firework making! You’re telling me that you know how to make baskets now, too?”

Ludger shrugged, dumping the reeds where Elize directed him in the Sharil manor. His face suddenly became serious, and Leia leaned closer. Was he going to say something profound?  “I can become proficient in whatever can earn me gald,” he said, flashing the reporter a thumbs-up. She slapped her forehead, sighing.

“You would,” she sighed, tossing her load of reeds into the pile before flopping down next to it. “Well, I’ve never done this before, but I’ll help you out. You too, right, Elize?”

The younger girl smiled, sitting down between Leia and Elle.

“Of course! We did something sort of like this in arts and crafts a few months ago, so I should be able to help! I could teach you and Elle if you want,” Elize replied, glancing over at the younger girl.

“I’m not super bad at it or anything, but I wouldn’t mind you helping,” Elle replied, Elize’s answering smile lighting one on Elle’s face as well. A loud snapping sound broke them out of their reverie, and they turned their heads to see Leia huffing over a couple of broken reeds.

“These don’t bend very well! Ludger, you brought a bunch of defunct reeds! How do you expect us to make any baskets with these?” she huffed, tossing the broken reeds off to the side. “These are too brittle or something!”

“No, Leia, you just need to be a bit more gentle,” Elize replied, picking up a few of the reeds herself. As she demonstrated the basics of weaving, Elle was paying close attention, brow furrowed in concentration. Leia was watching as well, though she tried to appear more nonchalant about it.

The three girls chatted energetically as they worked, and they seemed to forget Ludger was even there. He didn’t mind though, smiling as he concentrated on his weaving. Elize and Leia were both good for Elle, and it made Ludger happy to see them getting along so well. Elle didn’t know many girls around her own age, and Elize especially was a good influence on her.

Leia’s tongue poked out in concentration and after some time working she put the finishing touches on her first basket. “It’s a little sloppy, but for my first attempt at this junk I think it came out pretty good!” she held it out for the others to see, and sloppy was putting it a little lightly. The basket would probably function, but reeds stuck out at awkward angles in many places and it didn’t look pretty at all.

“Leia, it looks really bad,” Elle was childishly blunt, Leia’s cheeks puffing up in feigned indignation.

“Oh yeah? Well if you’re so good how’s _your_ basket coming along, short stuff?” she pouted, crawling past Elize to get a better look. “Ah!”

Unlike Leia’s basket, Elle’s was looking a bit more presentable. She was still struggling trying to make a handle, but only a couple of the reeds stuck out of place. The weave pattern was varied, but once Elle caught the look on Leia’s face she puffed out with pride.

“Elize helped me! Hers looks even better than mine,” she chirped, gesturing to the basket Elize was just finishing. Though her weave pattern was also inconsistent there was nothing sticking out of her basket and the handle was easy to grip if not a bit short.

“How come you didn’t help me too?” Leia whined, waving her sad excuse for a basket around. Elize giggled, sharing a look with Elle before looking back to the older girl.

“I can help you with your next one if you like,” she offered.

Leia nodding enthusiastically.

“Ludger’s been awfully quiet for a while,” Elle finally seemed to remember her guardian was there. The three girls exchanged glances, looking over to where they could see the parts of Ludger not obscured by the large reed pile.

“I bet he’s being quiet because his basket looks so bad he doesn’t want us to see it,” Leia whispered with a devious grin, Elle’s eyes widening.

“You think so?” she asked, crossing her arms in thought as she gave Ludger a sideways glance.

“Maybe he can’t focus when he’s talking,” Elize offered, “and he’s usually pretty quiet anyways right? This is probably normal for him.”

“I liked my explanation better,” Leia sighed, clearing her throat a moment later. She clapped her hands together, hopping up from the floor. “So! Ludger! How’s your basket coming alo- WHOA!” Her jaw went slack as she stared awestruck at what Ludger had been working on. Confused, Elle and Elize stood from the ground as well to get a better look. Elize gasped and Elle quickly ran over to Ludger, picking up his finished basket.

“Look at this thing! It looks like something you’d buy in a store!” Elle marveled, holding it up next to Leia’s basket. “I think we should hold a funeral for yours.” Leia gave a pathetic whine as she hugged her basket against her chest.

“I don’t know what you all have against this little guy! He’s got…character!”” she cried, quickly pulling it away as some of the pointed reeds had started poking her uncomfortably. “You’re just upset that you can’t fit him in the same mold as the other baskets!” She started swinging it around again for emphasis, but the constant motion finally pulled the handle from where it had been attached and the basket went flying across the room. Time seemed to slow as it went sailing straight for the coffee table. Everyone leapt to their feet as the basket crashed into the tea set that had been lying there blissfully unaware, cups and plates cracking with the impact.

“And now it’s gone and broken innocent tea cups,” Elle pointed out, “maybe your basket needs to go to jail instead.” Leia dashed over, picking up her basket again.

“She didn’t mean it,” she cooed to it, trying to fit the handle back into place, “though maybe it _does_ need a time out.” As Leia tried to fix it, Ludger had gone and started carefully picking up the larger pieces of cracked porcelain.

“Stay back for a minute,” he said to Elle, the young girl all too happy to comply. Elize had rushed off to find a cloth to wipe up the spilled tea, and Ludger had finished collecting the broken shards once she’d returned. Tossing the shards into the trash as Elize finished cleaning up the mess, Ludger crouched down by Elle. “Are you alright? None of it scratched you, did it?”

“No, I’m okay!” Elle replied, smiling warmly at him. Ludger smiled back, gently patting the top of her head.

After a small break to calm down from all the excitement, the four of them went back to work. After many, many hours they had finally finished up using all of the reeds, a pile of completed baskets sitting near the door.

“My other baskets were awesome,” Leia reaffirmed, nudging one of her baskets with her foot.

“And yet you’re going to keep the bad one for yourself,” Elle replied, Leia reaching down to playfully muss her hair up a bit in response.

“Thank you both again for the help,” Ludger said, giving the two girls a slight bow.

“It was a lot of fun,” Elize smiled, Leia and Elle nodding in agreement.

“Let us know how the client likes those things. They better love them after all the hard work we put in!” Leia hummed, Ludger nodding in response. After gathering up everything up (Driselle being kind enough to loan them a carriage until they made their delivery), Ludger and Elle bid Elize and Leia a few more farewells before they left.

“Do you really think Leia is gonna keep that thing?” Elle asked once they were out of earshot.

“That’s up to her,” Ludger replied, settling back as Elle snuggled up against his side. The slow rhythm of the carriage put the young girl to sleep after some time had passed, and Ludger was thankful that they had this calm and quiet moment together after the day’s excitement.

Who knew how many days like this they would have left?


	3. In the Future

When she’d learned how to fight, no one asked why Elle had decided to learn how to use dual blades. Everyone already knew. She’d even kept and used an old set of Ludger’s. Hammers unbalanced her too much and she could only use one pistol proficiently at a time, so she’d settled for the third option.

When she’d started eating tomatoes, no one had questioned her. For the longest time she would force herself to eat dishes with tomatoes, no matter how much she hated the taste. When she’d started getting older, she was relieved that the taste started to improve. Her childish tastes were beginning to refine, and she could see why Julius had liked dishes like pasta margarita as much as he had.

Elle wished she had tried Ludger’s when she’d still had the chance.

It had been years since that fateful day in Canaan, but it was something that Elle still thought about every single day. Agreeing to go with Bisley, hearing about Julius’s sacrifice later on, being trapped by Chronos, Bisley’s death, meeting Origin, and finally…

Ludger giving up his life so she could live hers.

Elle hadn’t even been from the prime dimension. She was a fake, a phony who hadn’t even been born to Ludger yet in his dimension. She hadn’t been his true daughter, but Ludger still treated her like she was. Even after everything that had happened with her real father, Ludger hadn’t stopped caring about her. He hadn’t looked at her any differently, even when he knew she wasn’t real. He had protected her, just like he said he would.

It had been hard to process when she’d been so young, but Ludger had cared for her more than her own father. Who, as it turned out, was also Ludger, but the difference between them had been vast. Victor had never been mean to her when he’d been raising her. He had loved her and cared for her like any good father would. In the end, though, she had just been a means to an end. He’d wanted to be reborn in the prime dimension, along with the “real” Elle.

Maybe he had loved her, at one point, considering his plan was to use her to lure the prime Ludger to him. He’d probably known that Ludger would grow to care for her like he once had. That love had become warped along with the rest of him, and she hadn’t known how to handle that when she was a child. If anyone at school ever asked about her family, she never mentioned Victor. Not anymore. If anyone was a true father to her, it was Ludger. The prime Ludger. _Her_ Ludger.

Sometimes, when meeting up with one of their old friends, they would tell stories about him. Fond memories, funny tales about something or other they had done together. Leia still had her sad little basket, but Elle didn’t want to tease her about it anymore. She couldn’t. If she’d been in Leia’s shoes, she would have kept it as long as it held together. They generally avoided talking about anything serious; nobody wanted to pick at old wounds.

Sometimes, though, it came up.

Sometimes Alvin had a little too much to drink on a night out. Drunk, he’d reminisce on the less than happy memories from back then. “Some of those worlds might have been preferable to this one,” he’d say. “Some of those Alvins had their act together more than I do. Some of them were worse.” He’d slouch over the table, face down against the cool wood. “I’m grateful, though. I’m glad Ludger showed us what could have been. It hurts, of course, but it made me even more grateful for what I have now.”

Sometimes, Elle caught a wistful expression on Jude’s face when they went to the train station. “Ludger and I used to talk about trains sometimes,” he’d said, and though he said it with a smile Elle could see in his eyes the same longing she felt.

Sometimes, Leia let Elle read through a special black journal she kept in a safe place in her room. It was filled with stories about their travels together back then; some were about the good times, some were about the hurtful times. Some were written in the form of news articles. “I want to write a story about him someday,” she’d said, “but it has to be perfect. I want readers to really get a sense for how good of a person he was. How he saved each and every one of us. I can’t publish anything until it’s flawless.”

Sometimes, Elize would try and help Elle cook some of Ludger’s specialty dishes. They would try something a bit different every time, but they could never seem to get it right. Maybe Elle couldn’t remember the taste as well anymore. Just like Milla’s cooking. Sometimes the night would end with the two holding each other close, tears salting their soup.

Some days Elle wondered how well Rollo remembered his old owners. Did he realize what had happened to them? Did he miss them? When it had first happened, Elle was heartbroken on the nights Rollo would lie outside the door to Ludger or Julius’s rooms and meow sadly. It had been some time since he’d done that, and Elle wondered if cats ever reminisced the same way humans did. If they hurt any less when someone they loved was gone forever.

Through the sadness came happiness. Elle would never be more thankful for someone in her entire life. Ludger had given her the greatest gift a person can give to another, and though the grief was unbearable some days she knew she could always pick herself back up again. Thoughts that Ludger was still watching over her helped. She always did the best she could, trying to make him proud. Would he like the person she had grown into?

_“I’m so proud of you, Elle.”_

When the others said it, she could swear she could hear Ludger saying it along with them.

A soft meow finally drew Elle from her thoughts, Pollo gently pawing at her leg.

“Don’t worry, Pollo. I’m just fine,” she murmured, leaning down to scoop the kitten into her lap. Ludger would have loved Pollo. “I’ll keep on being fine. I’m going to live, and keep on living. I’ll live my life to the fullest, you’ll see. And you’ll be right alongside me.”

The kitten purred as Elle scratched gently behind his ears.

She wouldn’t waste Ludger’s final gift to her. Not ever.


End file.
